Your $2 bill may be worth a lot more than you think
At one point, superstitious people believed the $2 bill was “unlucky” and came with a curse.
But the deuce will not jinx its handler, instead it may bring a lot of luck along with a few thousand dollars.
Keep reading to learn how to determine the value of your $2 bill!
Long considered the unloved stepsibling of the $1 bill, the $2 note has often been scoffed at by many Americans. Some even think $2 bills are rare, not printed anymore or have gone out of circulation.
But in 2023, the Federal Reserve reports there were 1.6 billion crisp $2 bills in circulation, a tiny amount compared to 14.5 billion $1 bills or 11.2 billion $20 bills.
Credit / Shutterstock
Widely unappreciated, the banknote has gained a bit of momentum over the past 20 years, where in 2004, there were only 0.07 billion in circulation, a small fraction of the $24.2 billion currency circulated that year.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) explains that “for most of their history, $2 notes have been unpopular, being viewed as unlucky or simply awkward to use in cash exchanges.”
Notes were often “returned to the Treasury with corners torn off, making them mutilated currency and unfit for reissue,” the BEP writes of superstitious people who ripped the corners, hoping to reverse the curse.
Meanwhile, the New York Times wrote in a 1925 article, “He who sits in a game of chance with a two-dollar bill in his pocket is thought to be saddled with a jinx. They have been avoided as ill-starred.”
The banknote is even the star of a documentary, The Two Dollar Bill, a 2015 film that explores “all aspects of the deuce, from its history to the many superstitions surrounding it.”
Despite their lack of popularity, the $2 bill is still underestimated and is at least worth two dollars.
Some $2 notes, however, may be valued at thousands.
History
In 1862, the first official $2 banknote was printed with the face of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, on the front.
It was in 1869 that the bill was redesigned to feature a portrait of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, a key image that remains unchanged to this day.
On the flipside was the picture of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate in Virginia, but the back was changed to a vignette of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the famous document authored by Jefferson.
Fetching a fortune
While the $2 bill is synonymous with Jefferson’s portrait, the note has seen several changes on the back, along with some on the front, including placement and size of the photo and the addition of colors.
And some of these bills may be worth far more than what is suggests.
To find the value of your $2 bill, look at the year and seal color. Crisp, uncirculated bills with red, brown and blue seals from 1862 through 1896 can fetch about $5,000 at U.S. Currency Auctions. And if your note is a little crumbled and used, circulated bills from the same time can be worth up to $1,100.
There are also paper notes with red or blue seals from 1917 to 1928 that are worth $50 to $1000, depending on its condition.
Went to withdraw a bunch of $2 bills for WPAFW, and one of them was almost 100 years old pic.twitter.com/9i1bL4BXaY
The auction site reports that collectors offer these rates depending on factors such as printing method and location.
Also, some notes come with “fancy serial numbers,” so if you’re lucky to find one of these very rare notes, your two dollars can be worth up to $6,000.
Do you have a rare $2 bill? Please let us know what you think of this story and make sure you share it with your friends!
Stock imagine of man with sore kidneys. Credit / Shutterstock
Your kidneys play a vital role in filtering waste, balancing fluids, and keeping your body healthy.
However, kidney disease often develops silently, with symptoms appearing only in later stages. Recognizing the early warning signs can help you take action before serious complications arise.
1. Fatigue and Low Energy
When your kidneys aren’t functioning properly, toxins build up in your bloodstream, leading to persistent tiredness, weakness, and trouble concentrating. Anemia, which often accompanies kidney disease, can also leave you feeling drained.
2. Trouble Sleeping
A buildup of waste in the blood can make it difficult to fall and stay asleep. Additionally, people with kidney disease may suffer from sleep apnea, which disrupts breathing throughout the night and leads to poor rest, the National Kidney Foundation says.
3. Dry, Itchy Skin
Healthy kidneys regulate minerals and nutrients in your body. When they struggle to do their job, imbalances can cause dry, itchy skin, signaling underlying bone and mineral disorders related to kidney disease.
4. Frequent Urination
Feeling the urge to urinate more often, especially at night, can be a sign of issues. When the kidney filters are damaged, they can cause increased urine production, which may indicate early kidney disease.
5. Blood in Urine
Healthy kidneys filter waste while keeping essential blood cells in your body. If you notice blood in your urine, it could signal disease, infections, or even kidney stones. Never ignore this symptom.
6. Foamy Urine
Excessive bubbles or foam in your urine, similar to what you see when scrambling eggs, may indicate the presence of protein.
Protein leakage in urine is a sign that your kidneys aren’t filtering properly.
7. Swelling in the Feet and Ankles
When kidneys don’t remove excess sodium efficiently, fluid retention can occur, leading to swelling in your feet, ankles, and even hands. This is a common symptom of kidney disease and should be checked by a doctor.
8. Poor Appetite
A loss of appetite may seem minor, but it can be an early sign of kidney disease due to the buildup of toxins in the body. Nausea and an altered sense of taste often accompany this symptom.
9. Muscle Cramps
Electrolyte imbalances can lead to muscle cramps. Low calcium and imbalanced phosphorus levels may contribute to this uncomfortable condition.
10. Puffiness Around the Eyes
Persistent puffiness around the eyes can indicate protein leakage in urine, which suggests your kidneys may not be properly filtering waste. This can be an early sign of damage.
When to See a Doctor
If you experience any of these symptoms, especially more than one at a time, consult a healthcare professional. Early detection of problems can prevent further damage and improve your overall health.
Maintaining a balanced diet, staying hydrated, and managing conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can help protect you in the long run.
Shirley Nunn’s death expose failures in care for families
In 2021, Shirley Nunn, 67, and her son Steven, 50, were found dead in their home in Middlesborough, England. Now, a new investigation reveals heartbreaking details surrounding the tragedy — a tragedy that could have been prevented.
In October 2021, 67-year-old Shirley Nunn received a devastating diagnosis.
Doctors told her that she had terminal cancer, and Shirley realized it was only a matter of time before she would pass away. While this news was heartbreaking, what seemed to weigh even heavier on her mind was the thought of how her son, Steven, would cope once she was gone.
Shirley had been a full-time caregiver for Steven ever since he suffered a tragic accident at the age of 11. The accident left him in a coma and caused severe brain damage. Despite numerous surgeries to save his life and help him recover, Steven’s injuries had lasting effects, leaving him unable to live independently.
He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and struggled with learning difficulties, mobility issues, and emotional control.
As a result, Shirley took on the role of his full-time caregiver. With the passing of her husband from cancer, she had been Steven’s primary support system, with assistance from adult social care that had been involved in his care since 2005.
Stage three lung cancer
As previously mentioned, Shirley was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer in 2021, and shortly after, she received a terminal diagnosis when the disease spread to her brain, spine, and pelvis.
Despite this devastating diagnosis, Shirley continued to care for her beloved son. The hospital and Shirley herself made arrangements for her to pass away at home, but she still wanted to do everything she could to help Steven. However, it wasn’t easy for her, and aa Domestic Homicide Review revealed that Ms. Nunn had been struggling with depression with thoughts of taking her own life.
The report highlighted how the ”loving and caring” Ms. Nunn was more worried about how her son would cope without her than about her own deteriorating health.
”She broke down in tears twice, reflecting on how her condition was worsening,” it revealed.
In October 2021, Ms. Nunn was hospitalized again for issues related to her cancer.
The staff were informed that palliative care was being arranged for her at home and that she ”preferred to die at home.”
Tragically, two days after being discharged, police were called to her home by her sister, where both Shirley and Steven were found dead — exactly two years to the day after her husband Paul also passed away from cancer.
The investigation into the tragic deaths revealed that authorities missed key opportunities to support Shirley Nunn, and had she received the right help, this heartbreak could have been avoided. It was clear that in the weeks leading up to her death, Shirley was struggling emotionally and was incredibly vulnerable.
”Always prioritized his needs”
Because she didn’t get the support she desperately needed, it seemed like she felt forced to take matters into her own hands when it came to her son’s future.
”The severity of the cancer should have ensured attention was focused on [Ms. Nunn’s] psychological and care situation at the earliest opportunity but urgency of this was not fully understood by professionals. Her mental health should have been focused on as much as her physical health,” the report concluded.
”[Ms. Nunn] had cared for and loved her son throughout his life and without question had always prioritized his needs. We can only assume she felt there was no other option or alternative for [Steven’s] ongoing care and support needs and took what must have been the very difficult decision which resulted in their deaths.”
This tragic story raises uncomfortable but necessary questions about how we support those facing unimaginable challenges.
Shirley Nunn’s unwavering love for her son led to a heartbreaking decision, but was it the system’s failure that pushed her to this point? Should we be doing more to provide mental health support for caregivers?
How much responsibility do we, as a society, bear in ensuring people like Shirley don’t feel like they have no other option? Share your thoughts — could this tragedy have been prevented with the right care, or is there more we can do to help families in need?
Surgeon who tried to save Diana’s life tells his story
Princess Diana was loved all over the world. She was down-to-earth, funny, a caring mother and a wonderful role model for many.
The tragic car accident in Paris that ended Diana’s life became a moment no one will ever forget. Diana was mourned all over the world, and her legacy will last forever.
But what really happened that night in Paris? And what were her injuries? Now, surgeon MonSef Dahman, who tried to save Diana’s life on that horrible night, has spoken out for the first time.
Diana’s passing was a shock to an entire nation, and her sons, William and Harry, were left without a mother. The terrible car crash and the potential cause of it have been discussed and debated many times. However, one person who found himself in the middle of the tragedy has now stepped forward.
Princess Diana – Surgeon MonSef Dahman
Surgeon MonSef Dahman was working at a hospital in Paris at the time – and it was he who was charged with trying to keep Diana alive.
In a new interview with Daily Mail, he’s told the entire story of what really happened.
“The thought that you have lost an important person, for whom you cared personally, marks you for life,” he told the British news outlet.
To begin with, Dahman wasn’t even supposed to have worked that night. As a young duty general surgeon at the biggest hospital in France, his wife was pregnant at the time. They were due to go on holiday, away from Paris, but since his wife was pregnant with the couple’s second child, they decided to stay.
As a result, Dahman worked all summer. Since he was a junior doctor, the shifts were very long. And this particular weekend, he started working at 8am, but was still on duty at 2am the following morning.
Dahman recalled it being a “pretty easy” day. He was able to take some moments of rest, and hadn’t been asked to perform any difficult procedures.
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But at 2am in the morning, everything changed dramatically.
Didn’t know it was Princess Diana
At approximately 12.23am, the car that Diana was travelling in crashed in a Parisian tunnel. She received lengthy treatment by doctors at the scene, but suffered cardiac arrest while in the ambulance.
By six minutes past two in the morning, Diana had reached the hospital.
“I was resting in the duty room when I got a call from Bruno Riou, the senior duty anaesthetist, telling me to go to the emergency room,” Dahman told Daily Mail. “I wasn’t told it was Lady Diana, but [only] that there’d been a serious accident involving a young woman.”
Dahman was 33 years of age at the time. When he arrived from the rest room, located about 50 meters from the emergency department, he understood how serious things were.
And as he walked into the room, he was informed that the person laying on the stretcher was Princess Diana.
“It only took that moment for all this unusual activity to become clear to me,’ he recalled.
“For any doctor, any surgeon, it is of very great importance to be faced with such a young woman who is in this condition. But of course even more so if she is a princess.”
Upon Diana’s arrival at the hospital, she underwent an X-ray that revealed she had suffered serious internal injuries. She immediately received a blood transfusion.
Her heart would not restart
Just 15 minutes after arriving, Diana suffered another cardiac arrest. Dahman performed a surgical procedure, but the Princess’s injuries were too grave.
Her heart simply would not restart.
“We tried electric shocks, several times and, as I had done in the emergency room, cardiac massage,” Dahman explained. “Professor Riou had administered adrenaline. But we could not get her heart beating again.”
Dahman and his medical team fought to keep Diana alive. But in the end, there wasn’t much they could do. He explained that the hospital – Pitié-Salpêtrière – was one of the best centers in the whole of France for these types of emergencies, and saving people who have been brought in made him “happy and proud”.
In Diana’s case, he felt hope at the beginning. But ultimately, they couldn’t save her.
“We fought hard, we tried a lot, really an awful lot,” he said. “Frankly, when you are working in those conditions, you don’t notice the passage of time. The only thing that is important is that we do everything possible for this young woman.”
“We could not save her. And that affected us very much.”
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Recalls it like it was yesterday
Every year as August approaches, MonSef Dahman – who now works as a surgeon in the French town of Antibes – thinks about that terrible night at the hospital in 1997. He, just like millions of people around the world, watched the funeral. It was a terrible tragedy.
“I don’t go back to it all the time because a lot of years have gone by,” he told Daily Mail. “But every time a new book [about Diana’s death] has come out [in France], it has been sent to me. So I have a collection of such books, unfortunately.”
In the following days, he witnessed a distressing and embarrassing scene unfold. Members of the media attempted to infiltrate the hospital’s wards and hallways to get close to those involved in Diana’s treatment.
“Pitié-Salpêtrière is a public hospital,” he explains. “The Princess was treated in a building where there were other hospital patients. We saw people disguising themselves [as medical staff], pushing trolleys, trying to get information. There was quite a lot of pressure on our security.”
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Princess Diana is still loved by people all around the world, as her spirit and legacy lives on.
In a 90-minute-documentary from 2021, as reported by Express, new revelations about Princess Diana’s last days came to light. Journalist and royal expert Richard Kay appears in the documentary – he revealed that he was the last person who spoke to Diana before the tragic car crash.
“I spoke to her that night. The police said that the last call she made was to me,” Kay recalled.
One year before her passing, Diana and Prince Charles finally divorced. Certain reports now insist that Diana was afraid the Queen and Charles were plotting to separate her from Harry and William. This comes according biographer Howard Hodgson, author of the 2007 book Charles: The Man Who Will Be King.
“She was well aware that the Queen had the constitutional right and authority under common law to take control of both boys’ care and education,” Hodgson wrote.
“As such she could become the boys’ guardian or even appoint one: this would probably be their father and that might lead to Diana’s exclusion if she finally burned all her bridges with the Royal Family.”
After the split from Prince Charles, Richard Kay said that he felt that Diana was in “quite a good place”. She was starting a new chapter in her life, when suddenly everything was taken away from her and her children.
“She was desperate to try and make a fresh start and do something different, to explore a different kind of Royalty,” Kay said. “And she wanted to come back and see her boys.”
“The most mourned person who ever lived”
The documentary from 2021, about Princess Diana, celebrated her “remarkable life”. According to Executive Producer David Glover, the documentary came at the “perfect time to re-examine her life and legacy”.
“There is something a bit magical about Princess Diana – and despite the difficulties in her personal life she managed to use her connection with people to do huge amounts of good,” Glover said.
“Her 60th birthday feels like the perfect time to re-examine her life and legacy and explore just how she went from a relatively unknown teenager to the most mourned person who ever lived.”
In 2017, Harry and William announced the unveiling of a new statue of their mother. On July 1, the statue is to be unveiled in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace.
Youtube/TheGuardian
Latest reports state that Harry will attend his mother’s statue unveiling, though Meghan Markle won’t be there. Instead, she will stay at the couple’s Montecito home to take care of their newborn baby, as reported by Harper’s Bazaar.
“Meghan has just had a baby and has no plans to travel to London for the memorial event planned for the statue unveiling,” another source revealed to Entertainment Tonight.
Harry & William on their mother
In 2017, on the 20th anniversary of Diana’s passing, Harry and William got together and talked about their mother.
“When everybody says ‘she was funny, give us an example’. All I can hear is her laugh,” Harry explained.
“She was one of the naughtiest parents, she’d come and watch us play football and smuggle sweet into her socks, literally walking back from a football match and having five packages of [candy]. And just, the whole shirt was full with sweets.”
“We felt incredibly loved by her, and I’m very grateful that the love still feels there,” William said. ”It feels like a good time to remember her and hopefully provide a different side.
”It was that love, even though she was on the other side of the room, as her son you could feel it,” Harry added.
Growing up within the Royal Family must be a very special thing. Sure, there will never be a shortage of money, but at the same time, it’s a life about duties and responsibilities.
Youtube/Goodmorningamerica
New Princess Diana letters revealed
Just how much of a ‘normal’ childhood William and Harry had with their mother is hard to tell. But recently, an old letter written by Princess Diana surfaced.
In the letter, we get a very short, but beautiful glimpse of what William and Harry’s childhood was like. Not only that, but also the very special childhood bond between the two.
The letter from Diana was written in March of 1985, just six months after the birth of her youngest son, Harry.
“William adores his little brother and spends the entire time swamping Harry with an endless supply of hugs and kisses, hardly letting the parents near!” Diana’s handwritten letter states, as reported by The Sun.
Written to a former steward at Buckingham Palace, Cyril Dickman, the letter was sold at auction in Cambridge in 2017.
In other letters, Princess Diana revealed how a then-older Prince Harry was “constantly in trouble” at school. Further, she also wrote about the joy of being a mother, as well as describing the “difficult period” in her life that was to follow.
Took William and Harry out for fast food
Princess Diana oftentimes took William and Harry to theme parks and other fun venues. But she also knew what royal life entailed, including the fact that they had meals served at all times.
She knew the importance of William and Harry being just as any other child, even though they were royals. With this in mind, she would sneak them out of the palace to go and get fast food on occasion.
“I remember the princess came into the kitchen one day and said, ‘Cancel lunch for the boys, I’m taking them out, we’re going to McDonald’s,” Diana’s former personal chef Darren McGrady told Marie Claire.
“And I said, ‘Oh my God – your Royal Highness, I can do that, I can do burgers.’ And she said, ‘No, it’s the toy they want.’”
Princess Diana will forever be in our hearts. Thank you, MonSef Dahman and the rest of the medical team for doing everything you could to save Diana’s life. You and all medical workers are heroes in our eyes.
Please, share this article to honor Princess Diana!